Thou Art My Beloved Son

THE SECOND SUNDAY AFTER EPIPHANY

And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan. And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens opened, and the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon him: and there came a voice from Heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.- St. Mark 1.1

This week as I read and contemplated today's Gospel, I was reminded of an extraordinarily happy day. It was one of the last Sunday evening services when we were still gathering at our former location, the night we as a young church plant experienced our first baptism- some of you were there. When we were given the privilege of not only welcoming a beautiful child into God's covenant family: Charles Nicholas Templin, my grandson. I never dreamed that the Lord would actually allow me to plant a church, and on top of that, to baptize my first grandson.

Many of you were there. If you recall, we gathered at the baptismal font at the entrance into the sanctuary. And that night, the devil was renounced, faith was professed, and a child was reborn into the family of God. One day, if the Lord wills, we too will have a sanctuary and an eight-sided baptismal font will stand at the entrance as a visible reminder of both the dignity of Christian baptism and as the means of how we were first received into the family of God. And this is why in the historic churches you will often have to pass through the font so to speak every time you enter into God's house, reminding of the sweet salvation we have received and that we are children of the living God.

This morning, Mark's Gospel invites us to consider the baptism of Jesus, baptized as he was by his cousin John in the River Jordan. Now John's baptism itself is a bit of a puzzle. While there were many differing purification rites and ceremonies in Judaism and within the sects springing from it, like the Essenes, it is hard to find a direct precedent. What we do know is that as the Jews looked forward to the coming of Messiah, there was a sense that the messianic age would come with God's purifying judgment; a future day when God would fulfill his promise to the prophet Ezekiel saying, "I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleanness." And indeed, John the Baptist is the prophet spoken of by Malachi, one Crying in the wilderness, crying unto Israel "prepare ye the way of the Lord," for the messianic age was about to dawn. John beckoned God's people to "come and be washed, come and repent, come and be forgiven - prepare your hearts and amend your lives for the Day of God's visitation is at hand." You see, John's was a ministry of grace, a pre-emptive movement of Divine mercy.

Because God used John to pronounce his coming, to give Israel a "heads up," for God himself was going to visit His people. Thus, they were to be washed by John, made clean, consecrated, and prepared to see their God. A similar thing happened on Mt. Sinai when the Lord said to Moses, "Go unto the people, and consecrate them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments and be ready for the third day. For on the third day, the LORD will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people" (Ex 19:10). In the same way, John's baptism was given to prepare Israel to receive the Lord Jesus Christ, who would come down to earth in the sight of all the people. This is precisely what St. John confessed in the opening of his Gospel, that "the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14)

And I want to make another important point about John's baptism. Now we read about him baptizing in the Judean desert and think nothing of it. But you have to understand just how radical and subversive his baptismal ministry was. For it was only in the Temple, through the priesthood and sacrifice, where cleansing and atonement were made. Not out in the waters of the Jordan.

Furthermore, here's a hairy shirted zealot telling all of these covenant people (the religiously "in crowd") that they were dirty and needed washing. They needed to get their spiritual act together, to repent, make amends, get right with God and neighbor. Now that's how you build a fruitful ministry! Every sermon, every baptism, every exhortation of John's striking at the very root of what the religious cult of Israel stood for. It was the Gentiles who were dirty; tax collectors, sinners, prostitutes, Roman guards, they were unclean; not the people of the Temple and the Law - NO, they were clean!

But NOT SO, says John, as if he knew that a New Torah was coming down from the mountain of Heaven; the real Temple was about to appear, made not of stone but of flesh and blood, wherein the divine Presence would manifest itself on earth, mediating salvation unto the world: "Behold" cried John, "the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world." Jesus Christ, God in the flesh: The True Torah; The True Temple; The True Font of Cleansing and Forgiveness. And for the religious of John's day, this was strong medicine, indeed! In fact, at their wit's end, the Sadducees and Pharisees finally sent messengers and asked John, "who are you?"

"I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit." You see, John's baptism was limited. It was preparatory; it was concerned solely with cleansing and forgiveness. It was pointing forward. It was as if John with Moses had climbed the mountain and had seen the Promised Land from afar- but fulfillment was still to come. That is why John's baptism is not Christian baptism. We see proof of this in the Acts of the Apostles, where John's disciples needed to be baptized into the name of Jesus.

And if Jesus' own baptism serves as a prototype of Christian baptism, notice then how it broadens the concept of Trinitarian Baptism. In submitting to a baptism of repentance, Jesus provides a sign of his Messianic vocation to bring reconciliation between God and Israel, in fact, to reconcile the whole world to his Father. His baptism encapsulates the entire purpose of the Epiphany: that Jesus revealed himself as the savior and redeemer of the world.

In His baptism, Jesus gladly identified and entered into the frailty of the human condition, align with our needs though he himself was without sin. The writer of Hebrews says that "he had to be made like his brothers in every respect so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people" (Heb 2:17). But we also read in Mark's Gospel of the descent of the Holy Spirit and the voice proclaiming divine Sonship: "This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased." His Sonship is affirmed, and thereby, our salvation is assured. The forgiveness of sins, the gift of the Spirit, the bestowing of dignity upon the beloved Son of God… all of this and every heavenly blessing comes to us through Christian baptism.

At the font, we too are washed, we are filled with the Holy Spirit, and God says to each of us - because of my One and only Son - I call you beloved: I call you my daughter; I call you my son. Through baptism, you were set free from sin and made children of the most high God: to be called son, to be called a daughter. No sweeter music has touched the sinner's ear. Beloved, this is the good news, the glory of the Gospel and the reality of your salvation confirmed by a heavenly declaration: "Thou are my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

And scripture provides so many baptismal motifs for our comfort. For example, being born again; our receiving the new spiritual birth from above; in baptism, we are brought from darkness into light; we are illuminated both the soul and mind and forever sealed by the Holy Spirit. Holy Scripture speaks of baptismal regeneration as being clothed with Christ. And, even more radically, St. Paul says that in baptism, we are somehow united with Christ; made one with Him in such a mystical way that his death becomes our death, his burial, our burial, his ascension becomes our ascension. In other words, Christ's story becomes our story, so much so, that in Him, we are re-created, and joined to him both in body and soul by grace through faith in baptism. We are born, betrothed, and wedded to Christ, who is the living water: the font of eternal salvation.

Friends understand what gifts the Lord has showered upon you who have been washed by the mercy of God. New birth; the forgiveness of sins; receiving of the Holy Spirit; made sons and daughters; inheritors of the Kingdom, and union with Christ by his death and resurrection. You see, if John's baptism pointed forward to the in-breaking of the Kingdom- the messianic age- then Christian baptism celebrates our incorporation into that new age, into the new world, a world which is being reformed and re-fashioned back to its original state of beauty and tranquility.

This age of death and corruption is passing away; it is an age pointing to all that must die if the fulness of the Kingdom is to come in righteousness and joy. You see, there is a new age on the horizon, an age when the Lord will reign, and all this ugly stuff in which we live will finally and forever get sorted out. At the incarnation, the Kingdom of Heaven was manifested on earth, the beauty of Heaven fell to earth. The blind received their sight, the lame walked, lepers were cleansed, and the good news of the Gospel resounded in the ears of the poor. And even now, Christ, through his church, is bringing the Gospel to bear upon the tragedy of our age.

Yet, the problem is, we live in between the ages; between one that is dying and the Kingdom age which has already been inaugurated: one passing away while the other is moving towards its fulfillment. So, according to the Apostle Paul, we are to live as those who belong to the new age, participate in its economy, live by its standards. Shall we then continue in sin? - No, says the Apostle, for "in baptism, you died to sin - so that as Christ was raised from the dead, so you too should walk in newness of life."

St. Paul exhorts us to "Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good." And why? Because the business and distractions of this modern age are all too often detrimental to the soul. In the demands and day-to-day barrage of life, we quickly lose sight of the faith we professed at our baptism; slide on the duties we vowed to uphold; fudge on the promise to denounce and reject all that is wicked and evil. This is why the Gospel of our Lord's baptism is a much-needed occasion to return to our own. To once reembrace the font of salvation where our life as children of God began. There we were crucified with Christ, putting to death and sin and uncleanness were put to death, and from there, we rose in the newness of life, we "put on Christ" adorned a heavenly garment.

So, friends, let us consider our baptism. Let all of its imagery and emotion, provoke us to walk in newness of life, remembering that in the water, you received the Spirit of holiness. You have been given the Holy Spirit and are citizens of a new age. Therefore, hear again, the words of the Apostle,

Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honor preferring one another; Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord; Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer; Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality. Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not. Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep. Be of the same mind, one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits. Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.- Romans 12:10-18

In your daily pursuit of righteousness remember that the words spoken of Jesus at the River Jordan are also true of you: You are my beloved son... you are my beloved daughter. In contemplating our great Baptismal Exodus from death to life, may we be inspired to "press on" working and praying together for the Kingdom of God. And may the next baptismal font you see be a sign of joy, a reminder of hope, a celebration of life: that in Christ this old age is passing away - the new age, the new world is here to which we have been enlisted and commissioned to be Ambassadors of until the Kingdom of God comes in the fullness of its glory and Christ is all and in all, world without end. Amen+